The Chaos Chronicles: A New Life
by Sparky Lurkdragon
Summary: OLD. Only being kept up for sentimental reasons. [A Mewtwo and teenage human girl join forces to unite the Five Soarers and solve the mystery of the Mewtwo's visions.]
1. Prologue

Author's note: Sheesh. This story is... old. Very old. It involves what is, looking back, a rather Mary-Suey self-insert. I would take it down, since, well, I don't like it that much anymore, but... well, if people really want to read it, I won't stop them, and at least this was a strong effort. Besides that, old and Suey as this story is, it helped me meet my best friend, so I've grown sort of attached to it for that reason. However, the originally planned series has, shall we say, died, been cremated, and then shot into a black hole.  
Anyhow, I'll shut up now. Read the story or not, enjoy it or not, and feel free to mock it as much as you please.

Legal junk: Story idea and the character Sparky are mine. Pokémon belongs to Nintendo, but I would appreciate it if no one used my fancharacters without asking me.  
---

Prologue

Before our story begins, the reader must know this: for every novel, every videogame, every fanfiction; indeed, any so-called imaginary thing that is thought up, a new Universe is born where it happens. It is possible for these Universes to interact with each other, through portals known as Wormholes. However, a Wormhole can be quite difficult to create in many Universes. Large amounts of energy are needed. Of course, where there is something that must be done, it will be done somehow. The Multiverse is infinite, with an infinite amount of stories. This tale focuses on four Universes destined to know each other, and the Uniters that joined them.

Our story begins with a teenage girl in our Universe who was sitting at home, enjoying her "alone time" after school. She was playing Sonic Adventure 2 on her Gamecube. She was dimly aware it was raining outside, but she was focused on getting a high score. Just as the end of the level was in sight, a lightning bolt struck the power line, knocking out the electricity. The girl yelped at the loud noise and looked outside. It was pouring as she had never seen it pour before. She began to panic when she saw the streets begin to flood. Her dad and little sister were out there!

As the teenager began pacing franticly, she suddenly thought of her dog. He never came inside, but she figured the biggest rainstorm she had ever seen was a good reason to go outside and drag him in.

So, the girl pulled on her shoes and coat and sloshed outside. "Freaaaaakles! Heeere boy!" she called. She knelt beside the smaller of the two side-by-side doghouses and found the aging Spaniel mutt.

She clicked her tongue and tried to coax the old dog out. In response, he did something most unexpected. He looked at her sadly and said, "The fate of the Multiverse in the hands of a human. I hope the Fates have not lost their minds. Good luck, Controller."

Before the she had much time to be surprised, a Wormhole opened behind her, pulling the teenage girl to her destiny…


	2. Chapter one: Raining Human

Chapter one: Raining Human  
  
Running. Forest. Running in a forest. A Mew spoke. His father spoke. Farlu spoke.  
  
"My little son, you are of the Chosen Seven. A human will come, a special human. She will help you to find the Five Soarers: One, the Queen of Ice, atop the Mountain of Freezing… Two, the Mistress of Thunder, in the abandoned Place of Human Lightning… Three, the King of Flames, in the belly of the Mountain of Liquid Fire… Four, the Guardian of the Sea, in the Undercaves… Five, the Lord of the Sky, on the Boulder Mountain… Unite the Soarers, and the Dragons will lead you home…"  
  
The young fugitive Pokémon stirred restlessly then snapped awake. A dream-vision… yes, it had to be. Farlu was long dead. He yawned, baring all his teeth in the process. He stretched out cat-style, then relaxed and flipped his tail out lazily. He looked up at the protective canopy of the trees, and then lowered his head and zoned out, trying to unravel his dream.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by a surge of strange energy to his left about ten feet away. He glared at it and growled viciously. A Wormhole opened three feet above the ground, and a figure flew out of it. It did not stir when its body came to rest. It was a young human female.  
  
The fugitive growled even deeper and rose to all fours. He stopped growling when he realized the human was either unconscious or dead. He cocked his head in curiosity, for he had never gotten a good look at a human this young. He rose to his full, bipedal height and cautiously walked over to her. Still tense and ready to bolt, he placed a paw-like hand in front of her open mouth. Yes, she was breathing.  
  
His logical mind was now at war with his instincts. All of his experience told him that almost all humans were dangerous, and should never be fully trusted. And yet… a small part of his subconscious mind told him that this human was different. He zoned out again, remembering the dream…  
  
"…A human will come, a special human. She will help you to find the Five Soarers…"  
  
The creature at his feet snapped him out of it. She made a noise that sounded like a cross between a whimper and a groan. Her eyes opened, and looked up at him. She gasped and whispered his human-name…  
  
"Mewtwo?" 


	3. Chapter two: A Strange Friendship

Chapter two: A Strange Friendship  
  
The creature had heard his human-name uttered many times before, but never as the mysterious Girl of the Sky (as he had mentally labeled her) had. It was a gentle, confused question.  
  
"Uh... yeah. That's what humans call me."  
  
"Mewtwo..."  
  
Girl of the Sky let out another pitiful whimper-groan, closing her eyes. She started muttering to herself, through which the Mewtwo caught a few incoherent words: "Freckles... Shadow... Wormhole... Multiverse..."  
  
Her leg twitched and she stopped muttering.  
  
"Uh, you okay?" the Mewtwo asked.  
  
No response. He checked the mysterious human's breathing again. Yes, she was fine. His two minds were once again at war, but the small part of his subconscious was gaining the upper hand. He stared blankly ahead, the echo of the dream in his head...  
  
"Hello? Can you hear me?"  
  
The Mewtwo snapped out of his trance and looked down at Girl of the Sky.  
  
"Sorry... I kinda space out a lot..." (Did he just say "sorry" to a human?)  
  
"It's alright. I know a lotta guys like that."  
  
There was a moment of silence between the two, and the Mewtwo got at good look at Girl of the Sky. She was wearing a dark blue sweater with a zipper, blue jeans a tad lighter than the sweater, and light blue-and-white sneakers. Her skin was Caucasian, her hair brunette, and she had blue eyes behind gold-framed glasses.  
  
The Mewtwo broke the silence by asking, "So. Where ya from?"  
  
"Not this Universe, that's for sure..."  
  
He suddenly remembered her mutterings. "You know about the Multiverse?"  
  
Her eyes brightened. "Yeah, of course I do! The Multiverse is all the Universes put together. I guess I have proof of its existence, then... say, are you called anything besides 'Mewtwo?'"  
  
*Wow,* he thought, *she must like talking.* Aloud he said, "Well, yes, but it's a secret name. You only tell your secret name to family members. Erm, it's a Mew thing. Mewtwo is merely my human-name."  
  
She smiled. "I can understand that. Well, my birth name never did suit me, so from now on, I am Sparky!"  
  
The Mewtwo smiled and nodded. His subconscious had been right; this human WAS different. She had barely known him for five minutes, and they were having a perfectly normal conversation. "Do you think you can stand?"  
  
"Enh, prolly..." She rose to a sitting position and rubbed her temple. "Could I rest a little longer? My head feels like it's gonna pop."  
  
"Alright."  
  
Sparky stared at him contemplatively for a moment.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Y'know, you could really use a human-name besides Mewtwo. I'm tryin' to think of one."  
  
"Meh."  
  
He took another huge yawn, baring his teeth. Sparky snapped her fingers and exclaimed, "That's it!"  
  
He stopped in mid-yawn and looked at her, asking, "Wha?"  
  
"You remind me of a character from a book I read once. He's a tough-as-nails sled dog named Buck. And when you yawned, I noticed you've got buckteeth. That's when your top incisors stick out. It's perfect! Buck the Mewtwo!"  
  
"Buck the Mewtwo, huh? Hmmm... I like it! It has a very nice ring to it"  
  
Buck, as he was now called, smiled again. He was really beginning to like this Sparky, and she seemed to like him. After all, who else had tried a hand at naming him?  
  
"So, do ya think you can stand yet?"  
  
"If you'll help me up..."  
  
Buck grabbed her outstretched hand and yanked her to her feet. Sparky wobbled slightly, and once again stared pensively at him. "Well, this is quite a jump." she said quietly.  
  
"Whaddya mean?"  
  
"Well, one moment I'm relaxing at home, the next my dog is talking and I get sent through a Wormhole to this Universe..." She broke off and seemed to momentarily loose touch with reality, mumbling something about Freckles.  
  
"Sparky?" Buck asked, vaguely concerned.  
  
She shook her head and looked at him. "Buck," she said, "I do believe our meeting is no coinkidink. I don't know how I know, but I know we're in the middle of something big."  
  
Buck pricked his ears. "Y'know, this morning I had a dream-vision. My dead father spoke to me. He spoke of a human who would help me unite the 'Five Soarers' and come home... I think you're right, Sparky."  
  
Sparky seemed lost in thought for a moment. She asked, "Do you know Prof. Oak?"  
  
Buck cocked his head and responded, "Of course I do. He's pretty nice for a human. He let me hide out near his house when the scientists were after me. How do you know him, Traveler Girl?"  
  
She smirked and said, "This Universe is a figment of someone's imagination in mine. Y'know, they would have to stop chasing you if you had a Trainer."  
  
"Yeah, I thought about that... It's just that all the humans I've ever liked aren't Trainers and can't have a 280 pound maniac in the house."  
  
"I wanna be a Trainer. That's why I asked; Oak gives licenses. You said something about the 'Five Soarers,' right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"Well, I have a sneaking suspicion they're the Legendary Birds. If I'm to help you, I should at least be a Trainer."  
  
Buck rubbed his chin. "S'pose you're right. Well, c'mon then," he said, motioning Sparky to follow with his arm, "let's go to Pallet."  
  
He faced west and started walking. Sparky followed, asking, "'Bout how far is it?"  
  
"Oh, about two miles 'r so."  
  
And so, they were off. 


	4. Chapter three: Great Mother

Chapter three: Great Mother  
  
As Buck had suspected, Sparky was a little chatter box. When questioned about it, she grinned and said, "Oh, I like rambling. It's a bit of a hobby. You should try it sometime; it's fun."  
  
"Well, I DO sometimes have very interesting conversations with myself."  
  
"Me too! One that comes to mind is when I got really hyper and ranted for half an hour about Mario."  
  
"Mario? What's that?"  
  
"It's a videogame series. Or rather, the title character of a videogame series. The game play is terrific, but the plot makes little to no sense."  
  
Their animated, albeit somewhat one-sided, conversation was cut off by a chorus of angry and frightened shrieks. They startled, looked at each other, then followed the sound. They came to a small clearing where a small army of Rattata and Raticate were trapped in a circle of black-clad humans.  
  
Buck growled deep in his throat. "Those damn Rockets!"  
  
"Why would they want all them Rats?" Sparky asked.  
  
"They don't. They want her." Buck pointed at a huge, grey muzzled, battle-scarred Raticate. "That's Great Mother, matriarch of that Raticate clan. The humans call her 'Old Crusty.' She's over seven years old, and has never been caught by humans. She's very powerful, very smart, and a very good ally."  
  
"Oh. So whaddo we do?"  
  
"You stay here, Sparks. I'm gonna knock out some o' them Rockets so the Clan can escape."  
  
"Careful, Buck."  
  
Buck smirked and disappeared into the brush. A moment later, he reappeared as a screaming demon and rammed his head into a grunt, sending her and her snare-on-a-pole flying over his shoulder. He roared and gave another an uppercut, then sent another into a tree with his tail. He glared at the others and screeched like those 'raptors from "Jurassic Park." Great Mother's clan speed past him into the brush. The old Raticate herself waited until everyone else had escaped, and as she began to flee herself, was engulfed by a large net.  
  
Buck screeched and charged at the net-holder, but was abruptly cut off and knocked to the ground. The Rocket with the pole had slipped the snare around his neck while he was preoccupied. Buck snapped at her and made an attempt to struggle, but she tugged on the pole, half-choking him. She laughed and said, "Old Crusty AND Mewtwo in one catch! This is great!"  
  
"What do we do with Justin and Talor down there?" asked a male grunt, indicating their unconscious comrades.  
  
"We take care of them after we get these two in Poké..."  
  
She was cut off by a large stick striking her in the head. Holding it was Sparky, who made a noise that was some bazaar cross between a howl and a roar. (Kind of like the iguanodons from "Dinosaur.")  
  
Buck freed himself and stalked menacingly toward the five remaining Rockets, growling deeply.  
  
"Let's get outta here!" one cried, and they raced into the brush. Buck howl-roared after them.  
  
Sparky dropped her weapon and took the net off Great Mother. "Thank you, human-kit,"  
said the old Raticate "although I know you don't understand a word I'm saying..."  
  
"But... I understand every bit of it!" said the surprised human.  
  
"You speak Lowger?"  
  
"Speak what?"  
  
"Language that all creatures except humans understand." Buck explained as he sauntered over to them. "No one really knows why humans don't speak it."  
  
"I never understood Lowger in my own Universe..."  
  
Great Mother looked impressed. "A human that both understands us and is a Traveler? Brother, where did you find such a strange being?"   
  
"She fell out of the sky near where I was sleeping. She even Named me! I'm Buck now. She's gonna be my Trainer."  
  
Great Mother nodded knowingly. "And you have chosen well, Brother. And what is your name, Sister Human?"  
  
"Sparky..." she responded with an expression of pure amazement.  
  
"Well then, Sparky, Buck, good luck to you. Farewell." And she trotted off after her clan.  
  
Sparky stared blankly ahead, saying more to herself than Buck, "That was weird."  
  
Buck placed a hand on her shoulder. "Shall we? Pallet's about five minutes away."  
  
"Uhhhhh... sure. Say, Buck?"  
  
"Yeh?"  
  
"Why didn't those Rockets use any of their own Pokémon?"  
  
"'Cause they're a bunch of bloody idiots. Let's go" 


	5. Chapter four: The Quest Begins

Chapter four: The Quest Begins  
  
After the incident with the Raticate clan, Sparky hadn't said a word. Buck made an attempt to break her silence by saying, "Thanks back there, Sparky. I thought I was toast."  
  
"Buttered toast," Sparky responded, her mind obviously somewhere else.  
  
"Buttered toast?" he asked.  
  
"Buttered toast. And gravy," she stated, imitating Ed's voice.  
  
"Buttered toast and gravy. Uh, what does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"I dunno. I'm sorry, you were saying?"  
  
"Aw, don't matter. We're here."  
  
Buck crawled up a pile of rocks and helped Sparky to the top. "Not all that awe-inspiring, is it?" she commented.  
  
The Mewtwo shrugged and led her to a large building. He waved at an old man and said "Hey, Oak! How's it goin'?"  
  
Oak turned and said, "Oh, hello, Mewtwo! I thought you left hours ago."  
  
"I did. Ehhh, it's kind of a long story..."  
  
He and Sparky proceeded to explain the morning's escapades. When they finished, Oak rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I've heard of the multiple universe theory before. I've never really thought about it much, though. Not my field of study, you understand. I do have one question, however."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"What did you do with those Rockets you knocked out?"  
  
Buck and Sparky startled and looked at each other. The latter said, "I guess we really didn't think about it, actually."  
  
"Well, then, we'd best take care of that, eh?"  
  
Oak walked to a phone and dialed three digits. Buck bowed down and said to Sparky, "He's gonna give you your license in a bit. I'm gonna wait outside, okay?"  
  
"Works for me. See ya."  
  
Buck strolled outside. He took a deep breath and relaxed a little. He didn't know why, but every time he went inside a human building, he got anxious. He paced back and forth while he waited. In about five minutes, his human emerged.  
  
"This is so COOL!" she said, a bit hyperactively. "Okay. So, where to first?"  
  
Buck looked up, closed his eyes, and focused, recalling the dream. "...'One, the Queen of Ice, recently moved to a Mountain of Freezing...'"  
  
"...Hmmmm... Articuno atop a snow-capped mountain!" Sparky exclaimed.  
  
Buck nodded. "The question is, which one?"  
  
They put their backs together, thinking. Buck swished his tail back and forth. Sparky watched it swing, then grabbed it and messed up the reddish-tan fur. Buck playfully swooshed it out of her hands and smirked. She smiled back and abruptly became serious again. "Maybe we could ask around. I'm sure someone would know where she lives."  
  
"Hail, cousins." interrupted a voice. The pair looked at a tree and saw a Sneasel sitting in its shadow. He stood and sauntered over to them.  
  
"Hail, brother." Buck said. "What's your name?"  
  
"Amaroq. And yours?"   
  
"Buck. This is Sparky."  
  
"Hi," the human said, obviously a bit confused.  
  
"I could not help but overhear you two. You seek the Queen of Ice, correct?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"And Sparky is She Who Speaks, right?"  
  
"What?" Sparky asked, completely confounded.  
  
Amaroq smiled. "You are a human. Humans do not speak like us. And yet, you do. You are She Who Speaks. It is your Lowger name."  
  
"Oh... kay... um, so how could you help us?"  
  
"I happen to know of the Queen of Ice's whereabouts. I've met her during my travels. She waits on the mountain known to humans as "Shasta." She waits for the Human Who Speaks and the Mew who Sees Visions. If you want, I can take you to her mountain."  
  
Sparky and Buck looked at each other. They nodded and the latter said, "Sounds great. I'd just like to know why you're helping us."  
  
"It's not every day you meet a human who speaks Lowger."  
  
"Fair enough."  
  
Amaroq faced the northeast and began walking. Trainer and Mewtwo followed.   
  
The mountain itself belonged to the range Rock Tunnel ran through. Amaroq pointed out which one it was, wished them luck, and quietly disappeared into the Rock Tunnel.  
  
Before they could climb the mountain, though, the pair was faced with a rather stubborn gatekeeper. "I'm sorry," he said, "The mountain is closed. No visitors in summer."  
  
"But we need to climb it." Sparky explained. "We gotta find Articuno"  
  
"Articuno? HA! That bird is just a myth. And even if it was real, a novice Trainer like you couldn't tame it."  
  
Buck grabbed the gatekeeper by his shirt collar and snarled in his face. "Lookie here, pal, we know Articuno's up there. And we've GOT to find her. Now either you let us go up, or I will rip your face off. Got it?"  
  
There isn't much arguing with an annoyed Mewtwo, so after Buck released him, the guard opened the gate. "But don't say I didn't warn ya!" he called as they began the climb. Both of them snorted at him in response.  
  
Unbeknownst to them, Amaroq had seen and heard everything from the Rock Tunnel's entrance. He watched the two beings ascend. After a while, he smiled and said to himself, "Good luck, Chaos." He then crawled into a small depression in the tunnel wall, curled up, and went to sleep. 


	6. Chapter five: The Mountain of Freezing

Chapter five: The Mountain of Freezing  
  
Evening came. Mewtwo and human stopped in a small cave to rest for the night. Since neither had any idea as to how to make a fire, they huddled together for warmth.   
  
"Some climb, huh?" Sparky panted.  
  
"Meh. I've climbed worse."  
  
"Heh... the only 'mountain' I've ever climbed before this was my city's patron large hill. I've never been an athletic person, see. I'm pooped. G'night."  
  
"'Night, Sparks."  
  
In the middle of the night, Buck woke. He raised his head and snorted. Something was troubling him, though he knew not what. He lay quietly, listening to the mountain's wind, Sparky's quiet sleep-breathing, and his own, somewhat anxious breath. His eyes suddenly caught movement that was not of the mountain air, and he grew tense.  
  
A strange reptilian quadruped was approaching the cave. He had oversized feet, was ice blue, and curious icicle-like things hung from his belly. Buck stood up, careful not to wake Sparky, and watched the creature approach. As the odd being grew closer, Buck noticed more and more of his body.  
  
He was a little shorter than Sparky, and a bit less long than Buck was tall. The oversized feet had long, blunt claws that rested on top of the toes. He had huge, moose-like antlers that drooped in front of his muzzle, with his eyes barely showing through the spikes. Two wings were folded at his sides, with icicle-like spikes on the joints and along their edges. The tail had spikes along its bottom, and a single one hung from his chin.  
  
The stranger sat down in front of the cave and said nothing. Buck tried to catch his scent, but it was in vain. The Mewtwo looked at the dragon's back trail and realized there were no tracks. He fidgeted uneasily, nearly stepping on Sparky. The visitor finally spoke: "Hail, brother."  
  
Buck looked at him with one eye, then the other, weighted odds in his head, and decided to return the greeting. They stared at one another for a few minutes. The stranger once again spoke first: "I come here to help you find the Queen of Ice."  
  
*Now how did he know that?* Buck thought. He simply nodded his head in acknowledgement.  
  
"The wall at the back of this cave will give way if both you and your human press on it. Is will reveal a tunnel. This will lead you strait to the Queen of Ice. Understand?"  
  
"Um... yeah..."  
  
"Very good."  
  
And that was that. The advice-giver stepped back a few paces and spread his wings. A blast of wind stirred snow in front of the cave, and when it cleared, he had gone.  
  
Buck stared out the cave, particularly where the dragon had sat. No butt-print. He looked down at Sparky, who was shivering. He made an 'I give up' motion with his arms and laid down beside his human. Fatigue eventually overcame confusion, and he fell back into sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
When next Buck woke, the sun was up. He yawned and stretched, then nudged Sparky's head with his muzzle. She made an unintelligible moaning noise and swiped at him. He smirked and shoved her with his shoulder, sending her into the cave's wall. She yelped awake, and Buck laughed.  
  
The teenaged human strutted to where her glasses lay behind Buck's tail, dramatically snapped them open, and stepped firmly on her Mewtwo's tail.  
  
"IIIKE!" Buck cried. Sparky placed her glasses on her nose and smirked. Buck stood and sighed, "Fair enough. Say, Sparks?"  
  
"Ya?" she yawned.  
  
"Help me push this wall in."  
  
"Um... okay."  
  
They placed their hands on the cave's back and pushed. After only a few moments, it collapsed, revealing a tunnel.  
  
"Cool!" Sparky exclaimed, "How'd you know that, Buck?"  
  
"Ehr, I had another dream-vision, I think. We follow this; we'll go strait to the Queen of Ice."  
  
As they started through the tunnel, Sparky said, "It sure is pretty in here. Say Buck?"  
  
"Yeh?"  
  
"What's the deal with all this 'Hail brother' stuff in Lowger?"  
  
"Term of respect. 'Brother' and 'sister' are use for their respective genders, and 'cousins' is used for a group of mixed genders."  
  
"Oh. Hey, look!"  
  
Sparky pointed excitedly ahead. The tunnel was ending, and they could just make out the silhouette of a large bird against the exit. Buck greeted her, "Hail, sister!"  
  
The bird looked their way, and in an almost singing voice, said, "Hail cousins! What brings you to my mountain? And how'd you know about the cave?"  
  
The two companions reached the exit and stood in the beautiful blue bird's presence. "Hello, Queen of Ice." Sparky said, a bit shakily. Her exited breathing made quick puffs in the air.  
  
The Articuno made an expression that conveyed the same emotion as grinning. "The One Who Speaks!" she cried, "She has come at last! Human-chick, I have waited long for you. Dreams have haunted me for a hundred years of your coming."  
  
She turned her gaze on Buck. "You were in the dreams too, Mew-chick. You who sees visions. You who wanders in search of your Clan. And I am to help, though I know not how. But we will speak of this later! She Who Speaks," and the bird refocused on Sparky, "I know from my dreams that you are a Namer. For far too long, humans have known me as 'Articuno.' This is not my Name! Speak now, little human. Speak now my true Human-name."  
  
Sparky looked at Buck. He smiled and made a 'go ahead' motion with an arm. The human took a deep breath and approached the Queen of Ice, placing a hand on her white belly plumage. Sparky looked at her wings of ice, her tail that flowed like a blizzard's wind, the three feathers that shot out of her head like icicles, and the way her crystalline feathers glinted in the morning. And the human looked up at her eyes, past the steam rising from their breath, and spoke the Ice Bird's Human-name:  
"Artica. Artica the Articuno."  
  
Silence pervaded for about 30 seconds. It shattered with the newly named Artica screaming her name to the mountain repeatedly. She was overjoyed. After a full minute of cheering, she focused again on her new friends.  
  
"I don't believe I know your names."  
  
"Sparky."  
  
"Buck."  
  
"Buck... you see visions, correct? What told you to bring yourself and Sparky to my mountain?"  
  
"Well, my dead father came and told me to find the 'Five Soarers' with Sparks here. This Sneasel led us to your mountain, we climbed it, and here we are"  
  
"Artica?" Sparky asked, "Do you know where the other Birds are?"  
  
The newly Named Artica shook her head sadly and said, "We haven't seen each other for seven hundred years."  
  
The group thought quietly for awhile. Sparky finally said, "I'm hungry. I propose we go to Celedon and get some eats."  
  
"Hear hear," Buck said.  
  
"Breakfast would be nice."  
  
And so, with Sparky riding Artica and Buck bounding down, they descended the mountain.   
When the gatekeeper beheld the mythic bird, his jaw dropped and he babbled incoherently. The trio laughed and continued on their way to Celedon. 


	7. Chapter six: Money Problems

Chapter six: Money Problems  
  
Artica listened as Buck explained his and Sparky's previous adventures. The human herself was inside a restaurant called "Mitch and Katie's," getting breakfast.  
  
"That's very interesting. So, how would reuniting us get you back home? No one knows where the Mews went when they were forced into hiding."  
  
"Oh, I dunno... That's what the dream said."  
  
At this moment, a rather sullen-looking Sparky plodded out of the restaurant. With no food.  
"What happened?" Buck asked.  
  
Sparky pulled some green pieces of paper from her right coat pocket. "Evidently, they don't take U.S. dollars from my Universe. My money's useless."  
  
Artica and Buck had no concept of money, so this explanation didn't help much. They stared at Sparky with blank expressions. A few moments, and she understood.  
  
"Money is stuff," she explained, "usually special pieces of paper and discs of metal, that humans give to other humans in exchange for goods and services."  
  
"So... no money means no food?" Buck ventured.  
  
"Right."  
  
"Humans are weird."  
  
"Well," Artica interjected, "We could always go find our own. Hawthorn berries are in season."  
"Hawthorns are toxic to humans. That's just my problem: I don't know what's good or bad for me in the wild. You can go get something for yourself, if you want."  
  
Artica took up the invitation immediately and took to the air. Buck asked, "So, how we gonna feed you?"  
  
"Let's take a walk. Movement helps me think."  
  
They meandered aimlessly through Celedon, and eventually came to Route 7. Sparky sat on a rock, and Buck wandered off into the tall grass.  
  
Sparky was humming the tune to "Live and Learn" to herself when she noticed a tall man walking toward her. He was clad in a leather jacket, and a cowboy hat obscured most of his face in shadow. Sparky was a little creeped out, but continued humming. Quite suddenly the stranger whipped out a switchblade and charged.   
  
Sparky let out a cross between a scream and a yelp and bolted. The man got closer... closer still…  
  
Buck suddenly burst from the brush and head-butted Sparky's attacker, knocking him to the ground. "What was that for, creep?!" he snarled.  
  
The man did not respond. Instead he leapt up and slashed Buck in the face. Buck roared and acted reflexively, backhanding the man with claws extended. He then tripped the human with his tail, and finally gave him a good whack in the head with said appendage.  
  
Sparky walked shakily over, panting. "Thanks, Buck... waa!"  
  
Buck had a deep gash in his head that ran from right above his right eye and ended just shy of his left. He bowed down slightly and asked, "You all right?"  
  
"I'm fine, but lookit you! I'm gonna get a doctor and the police. Will you be okay guarding him?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Sparky dashed off. Buck stood over the attacker, blood dripping down his face and into his blind spot at the end of his muzzle. He tossed his head occasionally to keep flies out of the wound, and snorted whenever blood got into his nostrils.  
  
About fifteen minutes later, several humans dressed in blue arrived. One, a female, directed the bloody Mewtwo to the Pokémon Center. Buck allowed his wound to be attended to, and waited for Sparky.  
  
About an hour later, she arrived with Artica.  
  
"What took you?" he asked.  
  
"The police wanted to question me. How do you feel?"  
  
"I've got a headache, but other than that, I feel fine."  
  
"Sparky told me what you did. Thank the stars you stayed with her." said Artica, sounding a little guilty.  
  
Sparky rubbed the bird's side affectionately. "So... I've got good news."  
  
She removed a wad of blue bills from her pocket. "Seems the police were after that guy for awhile. His name is Justin "Thresh" Nolands. Evidently, he's a serial killer or something. There was 5000 dollars on his head. That's a lot of money."  
  
"I thought you said they didn't accept dollars." Buck said, one ear lowered in confusion.  
  
"Not U.S. dollars. It's a different kind."  
  
Buck held his head in pain and confusion. "I will never understand humans." 


	8. Chapter seven: The Mistress of Thunder

Chapter seven: The Mistress of Thunder  
  
Sparky spent abut $100 on "survival stuff;" a backpack, food, water, and the like. With the problem of Sparky getting fed solved, Buck recalled his dream for their next destination.  
  
"Two, the Mistress of Thunder, in the abandoned Place of Human Lightning..."  
  
"Well, that's Zapdos," Sparky said, "and I suppose that means an abandoned power plant."  
  
"Power plant?" Artica asked.  
  
"Where humans make electricity. Let's see... there was only one power plant in the game, but it got reinstated in Gold-Silver-Crystal. Besides, the game has no mention of any Mt. Shasta."  
  
Sparky had by now explained videogames and their relation to the Pokémon Multiverse. "I guess that means we don't have any directions, then?" Buck said.  
  
"Right. Let's split up and ask around, shall we? We'll meet back here in an hour."   
  
None of the trio had any luck. No Pokémon had any idea where Zapdos was, and all the humans Sparky talked to gave her funny looks. The group reassembled and heads shook. Artica especially was quite crestfallen.  
  
"The Mistress was my best friend among best friends. She was the only other female, you see."  
  
Sparky stroked Artica's neck comfortingly. "Aw, don't worry, girl. We'll find the Mistress. As Thomas Edison said to his disillusioned assistants; 'We now know 216 ways NOT to do it.'"  
  
Artica smiled with her eyes, then asked, "Who's Thomas Edison?"  
  
"Famous inventor. Proved lightning is electricity and… uh… invented the light bulb."  
  
The history lesson was ended by a greeting of "Hail, cousins!" from above the trio's heads. They looked up and found a grinning Jolteon perched atop the small building they were standing next to.  
  
"Hail, brother!" Sparky returned. The Jolteon nimbly leapt off the building, landing directly in front of Artica, Buck, and Sparky.  
  
"Of all the wondrous beings to be seen in Celedon!" he said, "The Queen of Ice, a talking human, and a Mew! An honor and a privilege it is. But how rude of me! My Name is Zelos. What are yours?"  
  
The three spoke their names in turn, with Artica speaking last and asking, "Do you know where the Mistress of Thunder lives?"  
  
Zelos grinned. "Yes! This I know, for but a few short weeks ago, I lived in the human city of Vermillion. One year ago, the humans there shut down their old Lightning Maker in favor of a new one. At around the same time, I am told, the Mistress was forced from her old home because humans reoccupied it. She snuck into the old, underground Lightning Maker one night, right under the humans' noses!"  
  
Artica nodded. "I, too, was forced from my old home one year ago. The network of caves I was living in collapsed. I barely escaped with my life."  
  
"Hm," said Sparky, "that would explain a lot. Um, Zelos, could you lead us to Vermillion?"  
  
"It would be my pleasure. Come! This way!"  
  
The enthusiastic little Jolteon led them in an almost strait line from their location, through Saffron, and up to a dilapidated building in Vermillion City. It was evening when they arrived.  
"In there." said Zelos. "I bid you farewell, my friends!" And he zipped off, showing no signs of slowing down.  
  
"Let us go!" Artica chirped happily.  
  
"Artica?" came an exhausted Sparky, "Artica, I know you've waited a really long time for this... but I think we should wait one more night. I can barely stand. I've never walked that far that fast in... Like... ever. Just one more night?"  
  
Artica looked from her tired Trainer to Buck, who had become a leaning post for the pooped-out human. He offered nothing but a quick shrug. She looked at the dilapidated building and considered. She turned back to Sparky and said "Okay. One more night." with a 'smile.'  
  
Sparky sighed with relief. "Thanks, Artica. Uh, let's go to the Pokémon Center for the night, shall we?"  
  
She walked, somewhat drunkenly, to the in-sight Center, still using the Mewtwo for support. Artica gave the crumbling building a quick glance and said, "Tomorrow, sister." before hopping after her comrades. As she arrived, Buck was making a scene about entering the Pokémon Center.  
  
"I'm staying right here."  
  
"What's the matter with you, Buck? It's just a Pokémon Center." Sparky said.  
  
"Well I uh... um, that is to say... uhhhhhh..." Buck fidgeted and wrung his hands, at a loss for words.  
  
Sparky smirked. "You're claustrophobic, aren't you?"  
  
"Claw-ster... whosie?"  
  
In an encyclopedia voice with a raised index finger, Sparky said, "Claustrophobia: the exaggerated fear of enclosed spaces."  
  
Buck considered this definition for a second. "Well... yeah, I guess. Only in human-built confines, though."  
  
"Anthrophopbic claustrophobia. Interesting. Well, you can sleep out here, if you want. C'mon, Artica. G'night, Buck."  
  
"'Night Sparks. 'Night Artica."  
  
Late that night, Buck felt something tug at his tail. "Lee me alone, Sparks... not going in..."  
  
"Wake up." said a voice that was most definitely not Sparky's. Buck snapped awake and found himself staring at a yellow, four-legged dragon. Buck pinned his ears back and growled.  
  
"Silence, brother. I'm here to help you."  
  
Buck stopped growling and raised his ears, but made no other move.  
  
"Follow me." the dragon said.  
  
Buck glared at him, but complied. As he calmed down, Buck checked his new companion out. The dragon was about half a foot shorter than Buck, and as long as Buck was tall. He was mostly yellow, save for a few vertical, jagged stripes that curiously suggested lightning. In fact, a lot of him suggested lightning: his zigzagging horns, the spiky feathers on his wings, indeed, even his claws were jagged. Buck wondered how he could walk on such things. A demonic arrow at the tail's tip nicely rounded off this bizarre being.  
  
"Where are we going?" Buck asked.  
  
"You will see."  
  
They plodded on. "Can't we go back for my friends?"  
  
"It would do no good. You alone can sense me or my brethren. But enough of that... we are here."  
  
Buck looked and scented. It was the crumbling entrance to the Mistress of Thunder's lair.  
"Look, pal, we already know..."  
  
"I know what you know. But I also know what you do not know."  
  
The dragon indicated Buck was to follow by a jerk of his head and walked around a corner of the building.  
  
"Look there." he said, specifying with a wave of his paw. Buck looked where the crooked claws pointed and saw a thin crack in the wall.  
  
"So?"  
  
"Kicking that is the only way in. Any other entrance is blocked by fallen debris. Got it?"  
  
"Yeah. But... hey!"  
  
The dragon darted around a corner. Buck followed, a question on the tip of his tongue. Evidently, it would have to wait, for the news bringer had vanished.  
Buck stared at what would've been the dragon's trial for quite some time in a trance-like state. When he finally snapped out of it, the sun was just below the horizon. Buck snorted, tossed his head, and slowly dragged himself back to the Pokémon Center.  
  
***  
  
An hour of boredom awaited Buck as his two companions slept, unbothered by visions of dragons. When they finally woke, Artica led the charge to the old building. True to the dragon's word, there was no way in until Buck kicked in the weakened wall.  
  
The hole led down to a maze of dust-encrusted wires, generators, and even a few desks. They walked. And walked. And walked.  
  
It was quite some time before they saw any signs of life. A corridor they had not been down was comparatively clean, as if someone had taken a lazy swipe of a feather duster to it. As they started down the tunnel, Artica was practically exploding with excitement. In a bundle of nerves, she let out a cry that amounted to a whoop.  
  
To everyone's surprise, someone called back in a voice that sounded like a cross between a crow and buzzing static. It was too far off to understand, but Artica was overjoyed.  
"That's the Mistress! It has to be! Hey!"  
  
Artica dashed off, Buck and Sparky surprised a little at her speed on the ground. They could barely keep up. Artica and her friend called back and forth is a series of heys…  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Hey..."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"HEY!"  
  
"Hey... there you are!"   
  
Sure enough, there she was: the Mistress of Thunder. For both birds, it was a happy and noisy reunion. Buck and Sparky stood unnoticed for a full three minutes before Artica calmed down enough to point them out.  
  
"A Mew and a talking human, eh? Good companions, sister."  
  
"It gets better!" said Artica, "The Mew is Buck and he sees visions. The human is Sparky, and not only does she speak Lowger, she is a Namer! She Named me Artica!"  
  
"A Namer? Well come then, Sparky! I want a human-name, too!"  
  
Sparky stepped forward and immediately tripped on a wire for the umpteenth time. She cursed in exasperation and addressed the Mistress: "Sister, I'll Name you, but it would help if I could actually see. Humans have poor night-vision."  
  
"You need light, then? Step back, Artica..."  
  
Artica obeyed, and the Mistress jammed her long beak into a circuit box. She closed her eyes and focused. Static erupted from her feathers, dimly lighting the air around her. The circuit box and some nearby light bulbs sparked into action, as well. The Mistress's muscles trembled slightly from the effort.  
  
"Thundra!" Sparky yelled in a burst of inspiration. "Thundra the Zapdos!"  
  
The newly named Thundra removed her beak and cawed. She repeated the name over and over to lock it in her mind. Sparky walked up to a spaced-out Buck and clapped him out of it. "You okay?" she asked.  
  
"Uhhhhhmmm... yeeeah. So. We found the Mistress of Thunder."  
  
"Thundra."  
  
"Right."  
  
The human and Mewtwo watched the bird's joyous celebrations. Buck closed his eyes.   
"Two down. Three to go." 


	9. Chapter eight: Cinnabar Island

Chapter eight: Cinnabar Island  
  
Outside the abandoned power plant, Artica and Thundra stretched their wings above Vermilion City. Still overjoyed at seeing each other, they circled and dove and tumbled through the air. Well, it had been over seven hundred years.  
  
On the ground, their wingless companions were already making plans to find the next Soarer.  
  
"Okay, Buck. What's the next hint?" Sparky asked the Mewtwo.  
  
"Uh... 'Three, the King of Flames, in the belly of a Mountain of Liquid Fire.' "  
  
"Moltres... in a volcano."  
  
Sparky scratched her eyebrow thoughtfully. "Well... there's a volcano on Cinnabar Island."  
  
*Cinnabar... why is that name familiar?* Buck thought. Aloud he asked, "So, where's that?"  
  
"Darned if I know. Navigating on a Game Boy screen is another can of worms entirely."  
  
"Hm."  
  
"Hey, I know! Vermilion is a port town. I'll bet there's a ship that'll stop at Cinnabar. You stay here, Buck, I'm gonna go check the harbor."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Sparky sauntered to the harbor, where she was treated to a very strange sight. A colony of Seel and Dewgong had taken over the docks. She tapped a camera-wielding tourist on the shoulder and asked what the deal was.  
  
"Well, I think it's, like, the breeding season or something, and there's a whole lot of fish this year."  
  
"Yeah? I don't see any boats."  
  
"Oh, with all the Seels, boats can't get in or out of the harbor. It's completely shut down!"  
  
"Oh..."  
  
Sparky leaned on some railing and looked out at the mayhem. The tourist snapped a few pictures, then asked, "You know what else is interesting?"  
  
"Hm."  
  
"A Charizard has taken up residence in Diglett's Cave."  
  
"Really? That is kind of odd."  
  
"Yeah, and it's the weirdest thing; he's wild, but he hasn't attacked anyone yet. He's been there about a month now... almost like he's waiting for something. I've got a few pictures..."  
The tourist reached into his camera case, pulled out some photographs, and showed them to Sparky. She adjusted her glasses and looked at them. They showed a fairly relaxed-looking Charizard lying in a small depression in the ground.  
  
"Hm. Well. Uh, thanks for the info, pal. Take care." Sparky said, handing the tourist his pictures and walking back to the old power plant. Buck was leaning up against it, and the two birds had landed.   
  
"Well?" Buck asked.  
  
"I couldn't get a ship, but I did find out something interesting. There's a Charizard living in Diglett's Cave. I think we should check it out."  
  
"All right. Let's go."  
  
The three Pokémon followed their Trainer, who evidently knew almost exactly what she was doing, for she found the cave with little incident. Inside, they found the Charizard, who introduced himself as Robert. When told of their dilemma, he said he would be happy to lead the foursome to Cinnabar Island. He would even carry Sparky on his back, for she didn't know how to swim and obviously couldn't fly. Buck said he could swim very well for long distances, but after stating this, seemed a little depressed and withdrawn. His friends let him be and made final plans. They left after a good night's sleep.  
  
After about half a day of travel, the flyers arrived on Cinnabar Island. The only sign of previous human occupation was a whether-beaten Pokémon Center.   
  
"Amazing," Thundra said, "A place where humans do not live."  
  
"They used to," Robert explained. "The volcano erupted last year, and as you can see, the lava-rocks make it impossible for humans to build upon. They will be back. Just not yet."  
  
Out of the blue, Sparky said, "I wonder where Buck is."  
  
"He should be arriving shortly." Robert responded, "I will backtrack to check his progress."  
The Charizard flew away. Sparky removed a box of Angel Food Cakes from her backpack and started stuffing her face.  
  
"A good idea." Thundra commented, and she followed in Roberts wing beats.  
  
"Wa fee gooin'?" Sparky asked through a mouthful.  
  
Artica evidently understood her and responded, "Fish hunting. She's good at that. She will bring some back for us."  
  
Sparky swallowed heavily and said, "You can have my share. I don't like sushi."  
  
The human and Articuno exchanged idle chit chat while they waited for their companions. After a rather tedious half hour, Buck and Thundra came aground within minutes of each other. The foursome waited for their Charizard guide, but he never came. It didn't really matter; both the birds had strong backs; but still... why would Robert lead them all the way to Cinnabar and abandon them there?  
  
As they settled down for the night, Buck had an announcement to make:  
"If I'm not around when you guys wake up, don't worry. I prolly just couldn't sleep and wandered off."  
  
"Insomnia, huh?" Sparky asked.  
  
"Im... son-eea?"  
  
"Insomnia. Chronic sleeplessness. G' night."  
  
"Good nights" and "Sleep wells" were exchanged all around, and they settled into slumber.  
Buck's warning had nothing to do with insomnia. He suspected anther vision was coming, and his suspicions were confirmed late that night.  
  
Stomp... stomp... stomp...  
  
Buck awoke, but made no move. He suspected this encounter would be on a much larger scale.  
  
Stomp... stomp... STOMP...  
  
Buck was still frozen, his prey-animal instincts allowing him no move but to tense up.  
  
STOMP... STOMP... STOMP!  
  
"Turn around, little brother..."  
  
Buck tilted his head just enough to catch his visitor in the corner of his eye, then scrambled to his feet.  
  
He was enormous! Gargantuan! Buck backed up and snapped his head violently from side to side, trying to take this monster in.  
  
"Do not be alarmed, little brother. I won't eat you."  
  
Buck didn't respond, but stopped snapping his head so much and held his position. Now that he had established that the dragon was very big, his mind stated handling specifics.  
The visitor looked more like a predatory dinosaur of the T. Rex family than anything else. The two-legged stance, the ridiculously small arms, the huge head; it was all there. However, it was clear this was a fire-dino, a Pyrosaurus. He had flaming hair on his head, ignited eyebrows, a moustache of fire that hung limp from his muzzle, scales that seemed to flicker by their own light, even a Charizard-like tail. When he spoke, he bared very strange teeth: they looked like pearly white volcanoes!  
  
"You've met two of my brethren, correct?" he asked.  
  
"Uhhhhhhh... uh... yeah. You're here to help us find the King of Flames, right?"  
  
"That is correct. Come to where I'm standing, little brother."  
  
This was easier said than done, for the dragon was a fair ways up the mountain. Grumbling a little, Buck clambered up to the prehistoric's position. When the Mewtwo finally reached him, the giant lowered his head to Buck's level. Buck noticed with some alarm that the head was as big as he was.  
  
"When morning comes, you will see that a small part of the cliff face here is darker than the rest. It will slide inward with a little pressure."  
  
Buck nodded and looked up at the volcano's summit. A look of puzzlement formed on his face and he asked, "Wait... couldn't Thundra just fly in through the crater?"  
  
"No. The crater will not lead to the King. It is dangerous inside the volcano, even for one with wings."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You will know soon enough, little lost Mew. Soon enough."  
  
The dinosaurian raised his head and stomp-stomp-stomped down the mountain.  
  
"Hey! HEY! Where you goin'?! Why are you guys helping us?! WHO THE BLAZES ARE YOU?!?" Buck shouted after him.  
  
"Soon enough... soon enough... soon enough..."  
  
The fire-dragon plodded into the sea and vanished. Buck stood completely flabbergasted, and let out a frustrated roar. After pacing for a while, he wore himself out and went to sleep.  
After far too little time, he was awakened by a rather rude "SQUAWK!" right in his ear. It was Thundra.  
  
"Found you!" she said, "Time to find the King of Flames! We have it all planned out: me and Sparky will go in through the cra-"  
  
"NO!" Buck yelled, a little more violently than he had intended.  
  
Thundra startled and asked, "Why not?"  
  
"Trust me... ek... won't work. Just go get Sparks and bring her up here."  
  
Thundra cocked her head at him, but did as she was told. While she fetched their Trainer, Buck searched along the dark brown cliff face. Sure enough, he found a section a bit taller than him that was Umbreon-black, and it slid easily inward. The first thing Buck noticed was that is was very hot. The second thing was some faint distress calls form some bird or another.  
  
"The King!" Thundra cried as she arrived with Sparky on her back, "He needs help!" 


	10. Chapter nine: Journey to the Undercaves

Chapter nine: Journey to the Undercaves  
  
Sparky dismounted from Thundra and looked into the crater. She removed her backpack and sweater-jacked, revealing a gray T-shirt with a fierce-looking Asian dragon along the chest. She looked at the two Pokémon and said, "Thundra, you lead. You can fly in case the floor collapses, and you can talk to the King of Flames. I'll be in the middle, and Buck, you bring up the rear. Okay?"  
  
Buck and Thundra nodded and fell in line. A tense but uneventful search brought the trio to a large pile of lava-rocks. A frightened voice came from beneath them. "Mistress of Thunder, is that you? Oh, thank the stars!"  
  
"What happened to you?" Thundra asked.  
  
"This is my sleeping roost. Two days ago, I awoke to loud crashing; part of this cave's ceiling had collapsed! I'm unhurt, but I can't move for the rocks! Help me!"  
  
"Don't worry, brother. We'll get you out."  
  
"Who's we?"  
  
"Me and Sparky the Namer and Buck the Mewtwo."  
  
Thundra hovered unsteadily near the top of the pile, shoving rocks aside with her beak and talons, while her two companions dug near ground level. Sparky soon overheated and was forced to quit, however. Buck's field of vision was wide enough for him to monitor Sparky even as he dug, and he noted with slight surprise that she had flopped down and started panting like a Growlithe, tongue lolling and all. Sparky was the most Lowgerian human Buck had ever seen.   
  
Around ten minutes later, the King of Flames was free. He spread his wings wide, working the two days' worth of stiffness out of them. He nodded at Buck and rapped beaks with Thundra in greeting, then hopped up to Sparky. He looked down at the human and said, simply, "You're a Namer."  
  
She continued panting and looked back up at him, mind buzzing. Eventually she smiled and said, "Apollo, Roman god of the sun. Or was it Greek? Never could tell the difference..."  
  
Apollo understood what his name was, but had no hint as to the rest of what Sparky said. He looked at Thundra for advice, but got it from Buck: "Talking is her hobby. Half the time she only makes sense to herself."  
  
Sparky snorted at Buck and said "Apollo, what are you doing in the Cinnabar volcano?"  
  
Apollo responded, "About one hundred years ago, the volcano I was living in went completely extinct, and more and more humans stared coming through it. Some of them found and tried to catch me. Four years ago, I had a very close call with a Trainer, and that's when I decided to move. When I came here, I found this nice little cave and rested in it. The next morning, the entrance to the crater was gone! Which reminds me... how did you three get in?"  
  
Sparky stood and pointed at Buck. "He has visions. I'm guessing that's how you found the entrance from the side of the mountain, right Buck?"  
  
Buck nodded. More conversation was exchanged, and eventually, Artica was brought up. The foursome left the crater and reunited with the Articuno. Thundra caught some fish for herself and the other birds, while Buck and Sparky shared food from the human's backpack.  
  
After breakfast, everyone looked to Buck for their next destination. The Mewtwo had to focus harder that ever to recall it, for the dream was getting harder and harder to remember.  
"Aaaaaarrrrrr... Ffffour... the Guardian of the Sea... in... the... uh... the... Undercaves!"  
  
"Well, that's Lugia... wait. The Undercaves?"  
  
"Yeah. I think."  
  
Sparky grinned. "Hmp hmp hmp... Undercaves. Henk, Guardian. He he... Um, well, since Artica said the tunnels under Seafoam collapsed, I guess that means the Guardian is under the Whirl Islands."   
  
"Whirl Islands? Where's that?" Apollo asked, ignorant of Sparky's poor navigational skills.  
  
"Even if I knew," she answered, "It would be quite a journey. It's all the way in Johoto."  
  
Blank looks from the Pokémon. "It's another human territory."  
  
"Ohhhhhhh."  
  
A deep voice interrupted them. "Well, what have we here?"  
  
Five heads snapped in the voice's direction and found that it belonged to a very large Feraligatr. He was laying half out of the water, looking the group over. Buck stood up and assumed a threatening stance, ears laid back. "Who are you and whaddya want?" he snapped.  
  
The Feraligatr nodded solemnly. "I can understand your fear, Mew. I've already eaten, and if I was hungry, I would not have said anything."  
  
"He has a point, Buck. Relax." Sparky said. The Mewtwo sat down and raised his ears, but sill eyed the reptilian predator warily. Sparky addressed the stranger. "My name is Sparky. This is Artica, Thundra, Apollo, and Buck. What's your name, brother?"  
  
"I am Aquamentus. What are you five beings doing together on this abandoned rock?"  
  
"We're on a quest, and it brought us here." Artica explained.  
  
"Does it, by chance, lead to the Undercaves?"  
  
Buck leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. "How did you know that?" he asked.  
  
Aquamentus somehow conveyed a grin on his stony crocodilian face. "I have excellent hearing. I understand you don't know the way?"  
  
"Do you know it?" asked Sparky hopefully.  
  
"Indeed, yes. I've been through the world's oceans a thousand times. I know them like the back of my foreclaw. I can lead you there, if you desire it."  
  
The five companions huddled up and discussed the matter. Certainly, Aquamentus's help would be appreciated... but who knew what a 12-foot Feraligatr would do? Buck in particular was leery of the alliance; he'd have to swim with the large-toothed guide. Eventually, pros outweighed cons, and they accepted. "I'd just like to know why you'd want to help us." Buck said.  
  
Aquamentus expressed amusement. "It is a matter of boredom. I only have to eat once a month, and what else is there to do?"  
  
This explanation was strange, to be sure, but Buck accepted it and dove in the water with the Feraligatr. Sparky mounted Apollo, for he was the biggest, and they were off.  
  
The journey took four days, but Aquamentus knew of rest stops along the way. When they finally reached the Undercaves, he bid them good luck and vanished as mysteriously as he had come. Apollo let Sparky off of his back, and he, Artica, and Thundra looked by air for an above-water entrance. Human and Mewtwo searched at ground level.  
  
"Enjoy your swim?" Sparky teased.  
  
Buck glared at her unthreateningly. They walked a bit further until Buck suddenly said, "Hey, look."  
  
"What?"  
  
"An entrance. No, that way."  
  
Buck pointed. About a yard away was a small hole in the ground. The two walked up to it, Sparky pulled a flashlight from her backpack, and they looked inside. The hole was parallel to the ground, but sloped gently inward after a foot's drop. It looked like the space got bigger as it want further underground, but the flashlight's beam was too weak to really tell. Sparky squirmed into it and reported what she saw:   
  
"It does get a lot bigger further down, but the tunnel that leads up to it is pretty cramped. You'll prolly fit, but I don't think any of the birds will. Tell them where we are and come down here."  
  
Buck nodded out of habit and howl-roared at the sky. Soon enough, the birds landed and took watch at the hole, and Buck joined Sparky. By Sparky's flashlight and Buck's night vision, they began their search. 


	11. Chapter ten: Silverwing and Borialis

Chapter ten: Silverwing and Borialis   
  
Sparky and Buck meandered aimlessly for hours through the dark labyrinth. Even with her flashlight and Mewtwo, Sparky's human fear of darkness constantly got the better of her. Every odd noise or trick of the light made her startle, and she was exhausted from the constant jumping when they settled down for the night. Buck fell asleep almost immediately, but Sparky lay awake for almost an hour, still starting at every odd noise.  
  
Buck slept most of the night through. But at some unknown time, he awoke with that now-familiar uneasy feeling.  
  
"Alright," he said, "Let's just get this over with."  
  
The surface of a large underground river Buck and Sparky had been following rippled, and a crocodilian dragon crawled out of it. Well, mostly crocodilian. He had two paddle-like wings at his sides, and his tail was more akin to a dolphin than a crocodile.  
  
"In a bit of a hurry, are we?" said the dragon, "Well then, to business. You see that cave there?"  
  
He flicked his tail in indication. Buck looked and nodded. "That tunnel there will lead you to five choices of three tunnels. The quickest route to the Guardian of the Sea is 'left, left, left right left.'"  
  
The dragon said this last part in a kind of singsong way. Buck gave him a funny look and said, "Um... okay... uh, thanks, I guess."  
  
Buck's visitor nodded and turned back to the stream. Something about his demeanor reminded Buck of something. Just as the visitor raised his tail to dive, the Mewtwo said, "Aquamentus?"  
  
The dragon smiled slightly. With a flick of his cetacean tail, he vanished. Before Buck had very much time to speculate this, he felt his Trainer stir. The young human had been sleeping very lightly, still on edge from this strange environment. She raised her head and yawned. "Who ya talking to?" she asked.  
  
"Vision. Said we go through that cave and take... uh... 'Left, left, left right left.'" Said Buck, imitating the dragon's singsong tune.  
  
Sparky glared at him sleepily. "You sound like a drill sergeant."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Never mind. Let's go."  
  
They navigated the tunnels and came to an overhang above a large pool. "Hail, Guardian of the Sea." Sparky said, "We're Sparky the Namer and Buck the Mewtwo. Are you down there?"  
  
A large head broke the surface, followed by a long neck. A very long neck. It stretched up to where Sparky and Buck were standing, and still the bird's main body was underwater. The Guardian looked his two visitors over and asked, "What are a human and a Mew doing in the Undercaves?"  
  
"We've come a long way to find you. You see, about two weeks ago, Buck here had a vision-thingie. It said something about uniting the Five Soarers, and here we are."  
  
"We've already found the Queen of Ice, Mistress of Thunder, and King of Flames. Sparky is a Namer. Now their human-names are Artica, Thundra, and Apollo. I got my human-name from her, too."  
  
The Lugia cocked his head. "A Namer, huh? What of mine... er..."  
  
"Sparky. Um... well... I know you're more than a long neck. I had to sit through the Crappy Movies of Doom. Uhm... It would help if I could see all of you. Besides... this darn cave is giving me the heebie-jeebies..."  
  
The Guardian nodded. "Then we should leave this labyrinth. I believe I know of a shorter way out than the way you came. I'll ferry you across separately on my head. I know an underground passage for myself."  
  
First Sparky, then Buck rode on the bird's head across the pool. The Lugia himself pointed out the exit, and after giving his visitors a head start, dove violently. All three exited the Undercaves at roughly the same time, though the Guardian's exit was the most spectacular. He burst out of the ocean about twenty feet offshore with an exuberant cry. The other three birds soon homed in on him, and the foursome celebrated.  
  
Buck and Sparky watched the air show, smiling. The latter suddenly said, "Silverwing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Silverwing. Silverwing the Lugia."  
  
***  
  
After the birds finally landed and Silverwing was officially named, Buck tried to remember the next location. He remembered "Five, The Lord of the Sky" but couldn't remember the locale at all. So, the group speculated where the Ho-oh could be. It was the human who came up with their plan.   
  
"Hey, why don't we go to Ecruteak City? That's where the Two Towers are."  
  
"Or were." Silverwing corrected. "Mine burned down over 150 years ago."  
  
"I know. But the Lord's is still standing. If we go there, we might find some clues."  
  
The Pokémon nodded in agreement. Sparky mounted Thundra, and Buck accepted Silverwing's offer for a ride. The Lugia led the flock; after all, he remembered best where his old home once stood. Soon, the great Tin Tower came into view. But the mighty Ho-oh was nowhere to be found.  
  
Sparky told the birds to look by air while she and Buck hunted on the ground, like always. Human and Mewtwo asked every living being in the city, but only Morty the Gym Leader had any useful information at all.  
  
"Well, about a year ago, the current League Champion, Crystal, caught the legendary Pokémon Suicune, Raikou, and Entei. She also caught Ho-oh. Later, when she was showing all four off in the town square, fwoosh," and he waved his arm for emphasis "They all ran away."  
  
Buck gave a sinister smile. Sparky gave him a sarcastically worried look and said to Morty, "So that's it, then? No one has seen them since?"  
  
"Right. Is that all you wanted? Sure you don't want to battle?"  
  
"Some other time, maybe. We're kinda busy right now. C'mon, Buck."  
  
The pair left the Gym and found themselves wandering out to Route 37. Suddenly, a large blur raced past them and stopped, becoming a strange doglike Pokémon. He glared at Sparky and growled. Buck growled back and took a menacing step toward the Suicune. The human herself looked franticly from one annoyed Pokémon to the other and addressed them in Lowger.  
  
"C'mon, you two, no reason to fight. Buck! Knock it off!"  
  
Buck obeyed his Trainer and stopped growling. The Suicune's glare turned to surprise. He cocked his head. "A human who talks Lowger?"  
  
"That's right, brother. She's a Namer, too. Maybe you can help us? We're looking for the Lord of the Sky."  
  
The blue dog raised a forepaw. "Why?" he asked.  
  
"It's a long story. The long and short of it is that we're looking for the Five Soarers, and the Lord is the only one we haven't found."  
  
As if on cue, the four birds suddenly called down to their comrades and landed. The Suicune looked at them, completely dumbfounded. "So it's true..."   
  
He approached Sparky, head down in submission." I know not where the Lord of the Sky lives. But I know of one who might. A Name for information, human."  
  
Sparky stared at the dog, who even with his head down was bigger than she was. She closed one eye and looked up, muttering.   
"...Suicune... aurora... aurora borealis... Borialis. How's Borialis sound?"  
  
The Suicune nodded. "I like that. Now for me: there lives an ancient Fearow named Shigeta just to the west of here. She lives in a large berry tree just south of the farm full of Miltanks. She knows the skies almost as well as the Lord of the Sky himself. If anyone knows where he is, it's her."  
  
Borialis turned to leave. "Hey! Where are you going?" asked Artica.  
  
The Suicune smiled. "I'm too hyper to go on a quest or stay in one place. I look forward to seeing you again!"  
  
And he was gone.  
  
The five beings stood together in silence. Finally, Apollo said, "To Shigeta!" 


	12. Chapter eleven: The Final Hurtle

Author's note: Hooray! I finally have my own computer! Hopefully now I won't have such infrequent updates. As a special treat to my readers, I'm finishing up this story so that everyone won't go insane with the cliffhanger of doom. Then I'm going to take a little break from actually writing and fix up all the spelling and grammatical errors in all my ficcies. Hey, I'm a perfectionistic Virgo, all right? So, enough of my ramblings… I hope you enjoy the final leg in Buck and Sparky's journey! Be sure to leave a review!  
  
Chapter 11: The Final Hurtle  
  
Sparky and the Pokémon followed Borialis's directions and came to the Moo Moo Ranch. The resident Miltanks were very friendly and pointed them to a lone berry tree just beyond their fence. It wasn't very attractive, and neither was its resident, the old Fearow called Shigeta. But she was friendly. She agreed to lead the questers to the Lord of the Sky, who, as it turned out, had recently moved to what humans called Mt. Silver and Lowgers called the Boulder Mountain. Shigeta's only term was that the six would tell her how their strange group came to be.  
  
Four hours and one bazaar story later, Shigeta pointed out Mt. Silver and soared off, saying that she did not want to intrude on the reunion between the Five Soarers. And what a reunion it was! Landing just long enough to let Sparky and Buck dismount, the five birds rose into the sky, shouting their happiness to any creature who would listen. As usual, Mewtwo and human were ignored for a time.  
  
"So, Namer… what are we going to call the Lord?" asked Buck of the human.  
  
Sparky looked up at the exuberant birds, observing the Ho-oh. She started talking to herself, naming off various traits unique to the final bird: "Dragonoid head… big, big wings… yellow crest… voice like a lion… or dragon… rainbow… roygbiv… Roy… hmmm… fire… yeah. Roy sounds good."  
  
"Roy? What's it mean?"  
  
"I'll explain once those 'lovebirds' come down."  
  
Indeed, none of the Pokémon understood the name Roy. To them, as with all Lowgers, names had to have meaning. That was why they had all been so anxious to get a new one; what kind of name is "Mewtwo?" Or "Moltres," for that matter? Even if a being is one of a kind, it is unsettling to be called by the name of one's species. Buck had meaning; the Mewtwo's teeth were bucked and Sparky had said it was the name of a tough sled dog. And Apollo had been strange at first, but the Namer's explanation solved that. The first Apollo was a sun-god; is not the sun fire? "Roy" was like "Apollo;" the Lowgers were confident that the strange human could clear up the name's meaning. And so she did.  
  
"There's a mnemonic for remembering the colors of the rainbow...."  
  
"'Numonic?'" asked Silverwing.  
  
"Remembery…helpy… thingy. Anyway, it's 'roygbiv.' I took the first part of that,   
'Roy,' and it reminded me of a character in a videogame by the same name…"  
  
"'Videogame?'" asked the still-unnamed Ho-oh  
  
"She can explain later. Go on, Sparks." said Buck.  
  
Sparky cleared her throat and went on, "So, anyway, Roy's a character in a fighting game. He's basically the same as one of the other characters, except he uses fire attacks. So I figured, hey, the Lord's a fire type, so why not? Named after part of a rainbow mnemonic and a fire-user."  
  
The Ho-oh coked his head and looked up in thought. "Roy. Roy. Roy Roy Roy Roy Roy." Roy looked at the human, smiled as only birds can, and cawed his approval. A round of approval noises circled the birds.  
  
When they were through, Buck addressed everyone. "So. You guys are together again. The quest is over. Now what?"  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Roy.  
  
Buck let out a sigh that had a bit of a snorting undertone to it. "About two weeks ago, I had a vision from my dead father, Farlu. He said that if I got you guys back together with Sparky's help, I'd be led home by 'the Dragons.' You all know, except for you, Roy, that I've has visions after that. They are what guided us. But none of you know what was in them. Dragons. Dragons were in them. They never did speak their names. But one of 'em reminded me of Aquamentus. Artica, Thundra, Apollo, Sparky… you guys remember him? And now that I think about it, one was like Amaroq, one like Zelos, one like Robert. Don't you think it's odd that all our guides just vanished into air?"  
  
"Buck?" Sparky gently asked, "Where are you going with this?"  
  
The Mewtwo's ears lowered slightly. He let out another snorting sigh and said, "I wanna see my mama. I miss her. I wanna see that Mew Valley thing she was always talking about. That's where the Mews went, see? They built a safe-haven to hide from the evils of the world. You guys are great and all… but I want to see my own kind. Or the closest beings to it."  
  
Silence. Sparky finally offered what had to be a reference to something: "Sleep on it sleep on it sleep on it sleep on it."  
  
Buck let out one of those weird snorts that often precede laughter. His ears lifted and he said, "You've got a point. Maybe the dawn will bring answers. Or the middle of the night. The Dragons always seemed to come at midnight…"  
  
***  
  
Late that night, Buck had insomnia. He decided to explore the mountain and wear himself out. Or, perhaps, find some answers.   
  
After some time, Buck's nose led him into a cave. He smelled reptiles. Large ones. Sure enough, in the back of the cave were the Dragons. All of them were there; the icy mountain visitor, the one with the lightning bolts all over him, the Pyrosaurus, and the alligator with the cetacean tail. There were three new ones, as well.   
  
One was a large, serpentine creature with one pair of legs near each end of her body. She had friendly eyes in a scaly camel's head and a tuft of fur on the end of her tail. Two unfolded, feathery wings rested on the middle of her back.   
  
Another looked like the spitting image of a Veloceraptor, save for two scarred ear flaps and a sword on his hip. His scales were a strange melding of greens and browns, and he was about as tall as Buck.  
  
The third was vaguely reminiscent of a sauropod, with a long neck and whip-like tail. Under a protruding forehead, she had a long muzzle that ended in two crocodilian nostrils. Black horns grew just above her yellow eyes. She was on all fours, and each leg ended in a five-fingered, humanoid hand with sharp black claws. Her scales were red, and two orange-red wings were folded at her sides. She was the first to speak.   
  
"Welcome, little brother. We are the Chaos Dragons. Come, sit down. We are all cousins to you."  
  
Buck looked towards the cave entrance, and the sauropod spoke again, "Do not worry about your friends. All is well for the time being."  
  
Buck startled, both at the dragon's apparent telepathic powers and at "…for the time being." Hesitantly, he walked up to the group of mythic reptiles and took a seat beside the sauropod. She smiled and lied down on her stomach.   
  
There was an unsettling silence. Buck finally asked, "Who are all of you?"  
  
Once again, the long-necked dragon spoke. "We are the Chaos Dragons." She turned her head to the other dragons and said, "Brothers and sisters, speak your names. It will help clear up our friend's confusion."  
  
The antlered ice-dragon spoke first. "Amaroq."  
  
Then, the lighting-covered reptile. "Zelos."  
  
The Pyrosaurus spoke next. "I am Robert."  
  
Then the dolphin-tailed alligator said, "My name's Aquamentus."  
  
The serpent, in a surprisingly sweet voice, said her name next. "Shigeta."  
  
The raptor's voice was harsher. "Mine is Adun."  
  
And, finally, the sauropod said, "And I am called Aniu."  
  
Buck nodded. "I knew something weird was going on with all our guides. Why, though? Why are you helping us?"  
  
Shigeta answered, "It is a long story, too long to tell here. But there is another who will help you. He is a Mew named Zhalost, and he resides in your Clan's Mew Valley. That is why we are here tonight."  
  
Adun stood up, walked up to Buck, and sat back down in front of the Mewtwo. "I will be the one to tell you how to get to the Valley. Look in my eyes as best you can."  
  
Buck did so, practically sticking his muzzle under the Veloceraptor's. In Buck's mind's eye, he saw a cliff… saw himself walking up to it… saying words…  
  
Adun's eyes flashed and he shook his head. "What was that?" Buck asked.  
  
"You are still very young for a Mew. That was a psychic message from Adun to you. It normally isn't so difficult… but our powers are weak…" Aniu sighed. "You must go now. You and the others still have one hurtle to jump before you find the Valley."   
  
Buck lowered an ear in confusion. A sharp yelp came from outside; it was Sparky. The Mewtwo jumped to his feet and ran, leaving the dragons to themselves. They all looked at Aniu; she nodded. As if being blown away by the wind, the Chaos Dragons vanished.  
  
***  
  
Sparky had evidently misstepped and was hanging off a cliff. Buck sat with his back to the human and lowered his tail to her. Buck felt her grab on, and he started to pull her up, walking on all fours. He suddenly felt something in the rocks below him give; a second later, they crumbled, leaving both Buck and Sparky dangling from the cliff. The latter screamed.   
  
"It's all right, Sparks…we'll be fine."  
  
Sparky whimpered and adjusted her grip on Buck's tail. As the Mewtwo began to pull himself up, he heard a crash of falling rocks. A bunch of loose rocks above the pair had broken free. Buck tilted his head and faced down, eyes closed. He heard what sounded like a yelp above the din and felt Sparky's grasp start to slip. Buck wrapped his tail around one of her arms and felt the other hand slide off.   
  
*Something's wrong…* Buck thought. As soon as the rock slide ended, he pulled himself and his human up.  
  
"Oh no…"  
  
Sparky was unconscious and bleeding badly from a heavy blow to her skull. Buck sat down for a long time, watching the badly injured human. As the sun came up over the horizon, Buck carefully lifted her and walked back to where the birds were sleeping. Roy was already awake, and he woke the others when he saw Buck and their Trainer. The Mewtwo quietly laid Sparky down with her head on her backpack. For some time, the birds simply stared in shock. Artica finally ventured the question, "What happened?"  
  
Buck snort-sighed and explained the night's events, keeping one hand in front of Sparky's mouth to monitor her breathing. When he was done, everyone remained silent, watching the wounded human… listening to her fading breath…  
  
Two hours later, the Namer was dead.  
  
For a time, none of the six Pokémon did or said anything. It was Buck who solemnly picked Sparky's body up, lifted the backpack by its handhold with his tail, and slowly began walking. He stopped for a second and tilted his head so the birds were in his field of vision, speaking a single word.  
  
"C'mon."   
  
One by one, the birds followed. 


	13. Chapter twelve: Chaos Explained

Chapter 12: Chaos Explained  
  
A sliver Mew awoke. Who or what dared to wake him up? He yawned, abruptly stopping in the middle. Strangers! Strangers from outside the Valley!   
  
The old Mew suddenly became very active, rising first to his feet and then to the air. He zipped outside of the building and found the intruders. Five were exotic-looking birds, and a sixth looked and smelled vaguely Mew-like. A limp human was in his arms.  
  
No other Mews were in sight. The silvery one hovered up to the Mewish intruder. Telepathically, he said, {Who are you?! How did you get into the Mew Valley?!}  
  
The birds startled slightly and looked about. The Mew-like beast said, "Relax. It's telepathy." He faced the annoyed being hovering in front of him and asked, "Are you Zhalost?"  
  
The silver Mew hesitated before saying {Who wants to know?}  
  
"My name is Buck. The birds' names are Apollo, Roy, Artica, Thundra, and Silverwing. This is… was Sparky. We need to see Zhalost. Are you him or not?!"  
  
The sliver one sighed. {Yes, I am Zhalost. What do you want?}  
  
"I've been having visions. They've been leading me and my friends to each other. Last night, a lot of weird stuff happened. I had another vision; the 'Chaos Dragons' told me to see you. And… and… our Trainer died in a stupid accident. Zhalost, the Dragons said you'd explain everything."  
  
Zhalost's antagonistic demeanor changed dramatically. {The Chaos Dragons… yes, of course… follow me.}   
  
He levitated away. Buck and the birds followed him through a field dotted with strange trees and plants, along a silver river, and past many confused, frightened Mews. Eventually they came to the old building Zhalost had zipped out of minutes before.  
  
{Go in.}  
  
The birds obeyed, but Buck hung back. Zhalost listened to the strange creature's brainwaves and discovered that the visitor was afraid of buildings. Humans made them… that was bad…  
  
*But not this particular building. It's not human-built. It was made by honest Mews. Go on inside, but leave Sparky's body and backpack outside.*  
  
Had Buck been older and more knowledgeable of his people's abilities, he would have recognized Zhalost's mental coaxing as coming from the ancient Mew. As it was, Buck dismissed the thoughts as his own subconscious logic and did as they told him. Zhalost smiled to himself and entered.  
  
The interior of the building was simply a short corridor ending in a large room. The corridor was dull, but the room was a sight to behold. The ceiling was so high, Silverwing could stand to his full height and jump up and down, if that had been a thing for the Lugia to normally do. In the center of the room there was a very large, glowing emerald. Surrounding this centerpiece were seven pedestals, each with a jewel at its base; a light blue turquoise, a purple amethyst, a red ruby, a dark blue sapphire, a green emerald, a colorless diamond, and a yellow topaz. Atop the topaz's pedestal, there was a sleeping dragon that Buck recognized as Aniu.  
  
{Each of you will stand atop a pedestal.}  
  
The six did as they were told; Artica stood above the turquoise, Thundra chose the amethyst, Apollo the ruby, Silverwing the sapphire, Roy the emerald, and Buck the diamond. Zhalost sat on the center emerald with his legs crossed and closed his eyes.   
  
{The story I'm about to tell you will be hard to believe. But it's true; I was there, and I remember. A long, long time ago, this Universe we live in was connected to three others by everlasting Wormholes. For time beyond even my memory, there were wars going on between the four; thus it was called the Chaos Quadverse. No creature alive was safe from the wars, except for us Mews. Our species split into four Clans, one in each 'verse, shutting ourselves off from the world in our Mew Valleys. The only contact any Mew had outside his Valley was the odd communication between the Clans.   
  
One day, in all four valleys, non-Mew creatures broke in; however, it was clear they meant no harm to us. All of them were confused beings who had been led by psychic visions to the Valleys. The ones who came to this Valley were seven dragons. As they spent more time with us, they learned to use the source of power for the Psy-Shields that protect us; the Power Crystals that are before you. There was an identical set in one of the other Valleys; they were called Chaos Emeralds.   
  
The seven dragons learned to use the Power Crystals to heighten their abilities. The beings in the other Valleys learned to use their resources as well. Eventually, each of these creatures developed a telepathic link with all the others. They used their newfound powers to break up disputes between cities, countries, and the four parts of the Quadverse; thus they became the Defenders of Chaos.   
  
Years passed. Peace reigned. We Mews reentered the world. And then, without warning, several of the Defenders went mad and lost their psychic link to the others. They want on rampages; sometimes leveling entire cities. After that, things escalated and went downhill; the citizens of the Quadverse became wary of the Defenders, one of them meeting her death at their hands. The insane Defenders killed most of the others. After what I remember to be a short time, only one Defender remained who was neither dead nor insane. She lies on the Topaz's pedestal; Aniu was her name. She almost lost her sanity, but unlike the others before her, she recognized the signs and came to the Mews for help. Specifically, she came to me.   
  
She lied down atop her pedestal, I sat down on this Greater Crystal, and I let my mind enter hers. It was awful; strange demons were in her brain, wreaking havoc. We defeated them. And, while our minds were still one, we saw the king of those demons. He taunted us from beyond Aniu's psyche in the gap between Universes; the place known as anti-space. Ragonork was his name. Evidently, he had been trapped there years and years and years ago, and was using our Quadverse to break free. He could gather energy from our wars and malicious killing. That was why he had sent his minions to destroy the Defenders; they were mucking up his plans.   
  
When my mind returned to my body, both Aniu and I were severely shaken. It was she who came up with a plan to halt Ragonork's schemes. If the Quadverse was separated, he would have a much harder time gathering energy. She asked for the Mews' collective help, and we agreed.   
  
All of us sent the energy of our power sources to Aniu. She used that to destroy the Wormholes, but the backlash was catastrophic. Two of the four Clans and their Valleys were completely decimated, and as for Aniu… her spirit separated form her body, but the body itself still lived.   
  
That was 20,000 years ago. I am the last living Mew to remember firsthand these events. We have long lost contact with the other surviving Clan; to form a psychic link, you need to be in the same Universe. A few years ago… well, by my standards, a few, I had a vision involving you six and your human. Ragonork is growing restless. The Quadverse needs to reunite against him. The Chaos Defenders must rise again. And you seven, I sense, are part of that.}  
  
Zhalost opened his eyes and looked around at the shocked Pokémon. Buck leaned slightly forward and asked, "How would my father know about all this? He's the one who stared me on my quest…"  
  
Zhalost smiled at the young Mewtwo's ignorance. {Death brings much knowledge.}  
  
Artica piped up, "How can we become Defenders?"  
  
Zhalost's psychic voice once again entered their minds. {As I said, the seven dragons learned to use the Crystals here to strengthen themselves. More specifically, they learned how to draw power from the Crystals and from each other. I can perform a ceremony that will give you seven these abilities in ten minutes. Once it is done, you will have an empathetic connection with each other and will be able to send each other telepathic messages.}  
  
Each Pokémon looked the others in the eye one by one. Thundra said what was on all on their minds. "What about Sparky? You keep saying seven."  
  
Zhalost gave an enigmatic smile and said nothing. Buck tossed his head and said, "I'm in if you guys are."  
  
The birds pondered for a moment, one by one agreeing with the Mewtwo.  
  
{All right. Let's begin.}  
  
Zhalost closed his eyes again and assumed a meditative stature, legs crossed, tiny hands held slightly in front on his muzzle with his thumb and pointer finger forming a circle, tail gently weaving in an s-curve.   
  
{Stay perfectly still… think only of the Crystals and each other… do not be alarmed by anything…}  
  
Zhalost's fragmented telepathy faded to nothing as he began chanting.  
  
"Rerew-mwrowra-mew-oo-oo…"  
  
The Greater Crystal's glow intensified more and more. Just as it looked about to explode from the brightness, seven spokes of crackling, electric energy shot from it to each Power Crystal. It was an effort on all the companions' part not to jump. The glowing energy slowly worked its way up the Pokémon, focusing slightly at their eyes and changing their eye color to that of the Crystal they stood over. Buck's glowing, white eyes looked at the sleeping dragon; she too was covered in the yellow glow of her Crystal, and behind her eyelids there was a faint sense that her eyes were glowing, as well.  
  
Zhalost continued his solemn chanting. After several minutes, the spokes of energy flickered out of existence, and the Crystal's glow faded from the Pokémon, returning their eyes to their original colors. Buck whooped. Artica chirped. Silverwing sang. Thundra cawed. Apollo squawked. Roy roared.   
  
And the dragon groaned. 


	14. Chapter thirteen: The End of the Beginni...

Chapter 13: The End of the Beginning  
  
  
I felt very strange when I woke up. I was confused, too… The last thing I remembered before waking up was dangling by the end of Buck's tail and getting whacked really hard in the head.  
  
Anyway, when I woke up, I didn't open my eyes, because I felt so strange. I only moaned. I heard Buck say, "Hey… did Aniu just groan?"   
  
Then I heard what I figured to be some kind of telepathy. {Aniu? Is that you?}  
  
I wanted to say, "No, and who's Aniu" but it came out, "No, anblaaaargh!" because my voice was so different. Deeper, but still feminine, kinda like my throat had gotten bigger. I opened my eyes about then and noticed that my field of vision now included a rather large muzzle. That's about when it hit me how good my sense of smell had suddenly become. I could tell Buck was beside me to my left, and Roy was just to the left of him, even though I was facing to my right… all by smell. It was like getting glasses all over again, except with my nose. I raised my head and noted with some alarm how high it went. I looked down my muzzle at my hands and noticed that they were red, scaly and had black claws.  
  
At that point I freaked out and stumbled outside, where I saw myself. Or, rather, my old body. I stared at it in shock for some time, finally welling up enough courage to nudge my old head with my new muzzle. Somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, I recognized death's signature smell. Also somewhere back there, I noted that I was walking upon all fours, and was yet taller than I ever had been.  
  
While my brain was trying to assimilate all this, good old Buck came running out and glared at me. He pinned his ears back and growled in defense of my old body.  
  
"Buck," I said, "It's me. Sparky."  
  
Buck then did several things I've never seen him do, before or since. He stared at me wide-eyed and questioningly, then let out what sounded like a chirp and grabbed my horns, pulling my face even to his. (Horns?)  
  
"Sparks! Sparky, that really you in there?!"   
  
"Orange." I responded.  
  
The Mewtwo cackled and said, "It is you, Sparks! Whee!!"   
  
He jumped up and down, still gripping my horns, cackling like a lunatic. The five birds and a silver Mew emerged from that Roman-esque building, all except the feline looking confused.  
  
Still cackling, Buck looked over at them and said "It's Sparky! Sparky Sparky Sparky! She's in Aniu's body! Hrreehehehe!"  
  
The birds looked even more shocked, but I confirmed Buck's proclamation with, "Yes, it's me, I'm confused too, and will SOMEBODY PLEASE PRY THIS INSANE MEWTWO OFF OF ME?!"  
That wasn't necessary, as Buck let go on his own. He grinned somewhat sheepishly and apologized. The birds looked at each other, considering, and decided to rush me, cawing and squawking and whistling like a bunch of idiots. I looked over at the silver Mew and pleaded with my eyes. He just smiled and hovered off.  
  
Eventually, I decided it was time to take my new body for a test run. I roared, and it was a true roar, nothing like my previous imitations. The birds let up for a moment, and I tore away at a full gallop, only stumbling a few times. I let out several triumphant Iguanodon-style trumpets, whipping my long tail this way and that. My Pokémon soon caught on to my game and gave chase, trying with all their might to catch me. I dodged them with as much skill as if I had been born in my new body, zigzagging, doubling back, even jumping strait up a couple times. After a while, I spread the growths on my back that I was fairly certain were wings and ran in a strait line. My Pokémon backed off, allowing me to start flapping… jumping up to gain altitude… failing… flapping harder, running faster… jumping again… feet leaving the ground…  
  
I WAS FLYING! FLYING OF MY OWN POWER! The dream of every human when we are young, and some of us when we're old, and I had achieved it. I roared triumphantly, and my Pokémon joined me in the air. (Even Buck: as it turned out, he had been given psyonic powers by the Crystals)  
  
As we were zipping around like a bunch of insane dolphins on catnip, a small female Mew came up to us. Her markings looked a lot like a Siamese cat; her muzzle, tail, limbs, and paws were a dark pink, and the rest of her was varying lighter shades of this color and a dab of white. Her left hind leg hung down useless, clearly lamed. She also had a slight wheeze to her breathing. It was Buck's mother, a sweetheart of a Mew named Marli. She was overjoyed to see her son, and was curious about his friends, as were all the other Mews in the Clan. So, we gathered them all together and told them our story, testing out our new psychic powers.  
  
The other Chaos (That's what we decided to call ourselves: the Seven Chaos. My idea. Sonic reference.) dropped their species on their Names and adopted the color of their Power Crystal. So, Buck the Mewtwo became Buck the Diamond Chaos, and so on. But, I, for some reason, decided to not call myself Sparky the Topaz Chaos. Sparky the Seventh Chaos had a better ring, I guess. Alliteration, I suppose.   
  
That was a weird day. Shoot, it was a weird fortnight. It was awesome, though. It was only the start of a lot of adventures, but it was the end of our first. And it was the start of my new life. You only live twice, after all. 


	15. Epilouge

Epilogue 

Two humans, one young and one middle-aged, were meeting in a room full of flashing lights and buttons. They sat at an oval table, one on either side. The younger one, aged perhaps twenty, wore a leather jacket. The elder, aged around forty, was clad in a white lab coat and wore black-framed, squarish glasses.

The white-clad human fidgeted nervously in his chair. He did not look the younger human in the eyes, preferring to stare at his hands folded on the desk. He said, "N-nolan, what you ask i-is very dangerous… you kn-now what happened with the last… one…"

Nolan interrupted, "Yeh, so? This time it won't have anything to be vengeful for. Besides, Uncle Chazz, I can't see a better way to get Thresh outta the slammer."

Chazz sighed and shuddered slightly. "…All r-right. Let's see the sample,  
th-then."

Nolan grinned evilly and removed a closed switchblade from his coat pocket, snapped it open, and handed it to his uncle. Chazz twirled it around, looking at the crust of blood on the blade.

He nodded and said, "Y-yes, this sh-should be enough. It will take… oh…  
r-roughly t-two years, accounting for… your d-desired m-modifications."

Nolan once again gave that sinister grin of his. "What we gonna call it?"

Chazz sighed and thought for a moment. The new creature, he knew, would wind up being used only for Nolan and Thresh's sinister purposes. Chazz thought back to the many books he had read, calling up one of his favorite antagonists.

"We shall call it Spitz the Mewtwo."

----  
Author's note: And... that's it, folks. The planned series that would have come after this story has been, as I said in the note at the beginning of the story, cancelled.


End file.
